Botanical
Garden - A variety
of exotic and ornamental plants adorn this garden
which is the venue for the Flower show held
in May every year. There is a 20 million years
old fossil tree trunk in the midst of the garden.

Ooty Lake - Conceived
in 1824 by John Sullivan, the lake spreads over
4 sq km and is a much preferred haunt of picnickers.
It was formed artificially by John Sullivan.
Over time, the lake has shrunk in size giving
place to the present racecourse, bus stand,
mini garden and some part from the mini garden.
You can take a boat ride here, or laze around
in the boathouse (which also sports a restaurant).
Nearby is a children's garden whose toy train
is the star attraction with kids. Pony rides
are quite popular here.

St.
Stephens Church - This is believed
to be the first church in Ooty. Built in 1829
in the Gothic style, this is also the oldest
church in the Nilgiris. The huge wooden beams
here were hauled by elephants from Tipu's Sultan's
palace in Srirangapatnam.

Stone
House - This House was the first stone
structure to be built in Udhagamandalam. It
housed the residence of John Sullivan and was
originally known as Kal Bangla or the Stone
House.

Raj Bhavan - Built in 1877, the Government House,
now the Raj Bhavan, is superbly positioned on
the Dodabetta Ridge to the south-east of Ooty
and is approached through the Botanical Gardens.
The grounds are very well maintained and open
to visitors.

Quick Getaways near Ooty

Coonoor - 17 kms
away the small town of Coonoor a small town
has an equable climate that has made it popular
as a hill resort in its own right. The main
attraction is the Sim's Park, a small well-maintained
botanical garden that has several varieties
of plants not to be found in other hill stations.

Dolphins
Nose - 12 km from Coonoor, a glimpse
of the Catherine Falls can be had from
here.

Avalanche
-About 26 km from
Ooty is Avalanche, known after an avalanche
in the area in 1823. This is one of the best
spots for trout fishing, and rods can be hired
here from the trout hatchery.

Kotagiri - 31 km away, it is 1983 m above the sea level and has
a climatic benefit over Ooty as Kotagiri is
shielded by the Doddabetta ranges, which receives
much of its rain from northwest monsoon. You
can enjoy a pleasure ride on road flanked by
green tea beds on either side.

Mukurthi
Peak and National Park -Mukurthi Peak
is about 40 km from Ooty. The Mukurthi National
park is located on the South Eastern corner
of the Nilgiris plateau. The area contains a
viable population of Nilfiti Thar. The Silent
Valley is located on the Western side of these
ranges. A fascinating feature of the Mukurthi
Sanctuary is its endemism and relationship with
Himalayan flora and fauna.

Getting
There & Away to Ooty

The
nearest airport is Coimbatore (100 km)
which is connected to Chennai, Mumbai
and Bangalore.

Udhagamandalam
on the narrow gauge railway is connected
to Mettupalayam which is directly connected
to Coimbatore and Chennai on broad gauge.

Udhagamandalam
is connected by good motorable road. It
is 535 km from Chennai and 89 km from
Coimbatore. There are regular bus services
connecting Udhagamandalam to Coimbatore,
Trichy, Bangalore, Madurai, Kanniyakumari,
Mysore, Palghat, Calicut and Tirupathi.

Getting
Around in Ooty

It's best to walk around Ooty, especially if
you're there in the tourist season. The weather
is just perfect for nature walks. Autos are
available but you have to negotiate a great
deal. There are taxis available too which run
on meters.